Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Please join the NJ Statewide Wine Grape Twilight Meeting on the Wed, May 20, 2020 4:20 pm using the below link. Also, please see below for the program details.
Meeting Host: Hemant Gohil
https://rutgers.webex.com/rutgers/j.php?MTID=mbdbb2eafedfe9d44f3694adeedf61269
Meeting number: 222 571 928:
Password: MJht93B8Pzx
Join by phone +1-650-429-3300
Access code: 222 571 928 [Read more…]
By, Michelle Infante-Casella, Agricultural Agent/Professor, RCE of Gloucester Co. and William Bamka, Agricultural Agent/Associate Professor, RCE of Burlington Co.
Although media reports have triggered panic over the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), there are no reports this pest is present anywhere else in North America besides the Pacific Northwest. Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resource personnel have received inquiries to identify hornets found by the public. In New Jersey, Rutgers Cooperative Extension county offices have not identified any submitted specimens to be the Asian Giant Hornet. The Asian giant hornet has only had confirmed sightings in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada.
“The species has not yet been detected this spring in Washington State or the British Columbia or anywhere else on the West Coast”, said Professor Dina M. Fonseca, director of the Center for Vector Biology in the Department Entomology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick. “We do not know how the species arrived in the United States but it is important to not overreact.”
Washington State University’s information on the Asian giant hornet confirmed the first U.S. sighting of this hornet in the wild. The first two specimens were found in Nanaimo and White Rock, British Columbia, Canada in fall of 2019.
The hornets were reported to be attacking colonies of honeybees in Washington State. The Asian Giant Hornet is known to aggressively attack honeybees and can destroy entire honeybee colonies. Washington State University recently published an extensive fact sheet with identification and guidance for the public. According to the WSU Pest Alert, Asian Giant Hornets are not generally aggressive towards people, but may sting when threatened.
“The Asian giant hornet is unlikely to be present in New Jersey,” Fonseca said. “while citizens in the Pacific Northwest can help detect any emerging hornets this spring, which is critical for its control, the indiscriminate killing of bees, wasps or other hornet lookalikes, would be detrimental because of beneficial roles these insects provide as plant pollinators and predators of agricultural pests.”
An insect that looks similar and can be confused for the Asian giant hornet is the Cicada killer wasp (Sphecius speciosus). They large solitary 
wasps found throughout the U.S. and burrow holes in the soil. Even with their large size, dangerous appearance and “dive-bombing” habit, adult Cicada killer wasps rarely come in contact with people and it is rare they will sting. The males of this species will make “dive-bombing” flight patterns, but do not have a stinger and an attack would not result in a sting. The female’s tubular egg-laying structure on the rear end can function as a very weak stinger. Her mild sting is similar to a slight pin scratch and is not considered by most people to be painful. Rutgers Cooperative Extension has more information on the Cicada Killer Wasp and other bees and wasps.
As more information comes out regarding the Asian giant hornet, it is best to pay attention to where this insect has been confirmed and how far it has spread. It is most likely that the Asian giant hornet would first spread and be reported in surrounding areas bordering Washington State and British Columbia, Canada before any reports would occur on the East Coast. Knowing this information may help to calm fears when seeing other hornets and wasps. As always, take precautions and avoid contact with stinging insects. For identification and recommendations contact your local county Rutgers Cooperative Extension office.
By Michelle Infante-Casella and Stephen Komar, Agricultural Agents-Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Where does food come from? Does the U.S. produce enough food to feed all Americans? Let’s stop right there for a minute and go back almost 5 decades.
In the 1970’s gasoline and other energy prices soared causing an American economic crisis. Our country was reliant on foreign oil sources. The US economy struggled, unemployment rates soared, and uncertainties prevailed. Yes, fuel is necessary for transporting people, moving products, for industrial processes and heating homes. However, Americans adapted and made changes to their habits to adjust to the shock of high-energy prices. These changes presented many challenges, but we persevered and over-time the U.S. tapped into domestic resources and the energy industry developed technologies to make us less dependent on foreign energy.
Let’s move ahead to today. This time it is not energy supply at risk, it is literally human lives that are being impacted by a worldwide pandemic. Once again uncertainties – this time food supply and safety are at the top of the list and causing anxiety for many households. Again, the consumer has adapted their preferences and habits in response to this new challenge. Today, consumers still desire fresh, healthy food, but are adapting their shopping habits to include, social distancing, shopping online and other methods to meet their dietary needs.
Going back to our original question, ‘Where does food come from?” To those in the agricultural industry the answer is obvious, but where our food comes from is often not considered by many Americans. The New Jersey Farm Bureau coined the slogan, “No Farmers, No Food”. But how can our farmers meet the changing demands of the consumer in response to the Coronavirus pandemic? Just like the American consumer, New Jersey farmers are changing the way they provide delicious, locally produced food, directly to the consumer.
Let’s face it – everyone enjoys visiting a local farm or farmers market. Not only can customers purchase some of the freshest fruits, vegetables and other products directly from the farmers who produced them, they can enjoy spending some time in the beautiful outdoors. Although most people are familiar with the traditional roadside farm stand, there are several unique products being sold by New Jersey’s innovative farmers. Everything from farm-fresh cheeses to locally raised meats like beef and pork, locally produced beverages, salsa and jellies, to farm-fresh poultry products are being produced right in your backyard. Many local farmers have incorporated Center for Disease Control guidelines including enhanced food safety, social distancing and other precautions to help ensure consumer safety. Some farmers are now offering a variety of ordering and payment options and even providing prepackaged delivery to your vehicle curb-side or to your home.
A CSA or community-supported agriculture is a great way to share in the experience of a local farmer. Much like the stock market, CSA members pay a fee in exchange for a “share” of a farmer’s crop. In exchange for their investment in the farming operation, members receive a percentage of the annual harvest while gaining the satisfaction of knowing where their food was produced and watching it come to fruition throughout the growing season. CSA members are rewarded with delicious yields and excellent returns on their investment in the form of farm-fresh products. Some innovative producers are providing virtual tours of their farms to give consumers the on-farm experience from the comfort of their homes. To learn more about CSAs check out the Rutgers Cooperative Extension fact sheet, Community Supported Agriculture: A Farmer’s Overview.
To help get the word out about New Jersey agricultural products some resources are available. The public can use the Find Jersey Fresh webpage or the NJ Farm Bureau webpage Local Farms – Local Food to find nearby farms with retail markets. Additionally, using your own social media pages and other outlets can attract customers. Farming is an essential industry and everyone depends on farmers to provide food. NO FARMERS NO FOOD.
New Jersey Department of Agriculture has issued a notice concerning open burning due to colder spring overnight temperatures presently forecasted for areas of New Jersey from Thursday, May 7 through Monday, May 11, 2020, which could adversely affect fruit, vegetable, and floriculture crops in bloom or near bloom around the state. For details read below the links.
Note: The NJDEP and New Jersey Forest Fire Service caution all farmers and agriculture businesses with respect to the use of open burning in high wind velocity conditions. Please take note that farmers are encouraged to utilize smudge pots is warming as necessary during higher wind conditions. Use of open burning when wind velocity is greater than 5mph is strictly prohibited, may contribute to wildfire risk, and can carry significant penalties. [Read more…]
By Hemant Gohil and Megan Muehlbauer
The weather forecast for the next few days indicate subfreezing temperature in several parts of New Jersey. In fruit crops, such events during the flower bud development, can cause crop loss which could vary from minor loss of quality and quantity to a total crop loss. Recently, frost events seem to be occurring more frequently. These events have been driven by warmer spring temperatures pushing bud growth earlier, making blossoms more vulnerable to frost damage.
What to monitor before active frost protection?
Frost damage occurs when plant tissues are exposed to subfreezing temperatures (Figure 1). However, it is the co-occurrence of other factors that determines the extent of the damage. All these factors should be monitored, and will assist in determining which frost protection method to employ and its duration.
Figure 1. Frost damage in apple following the freeze event in 2010 in Pennsylvania (Photo by R. Crassweller).
Bud Stage: Regular monitoring of the bud development stage beginning at bud swell will help in determining the actual threat of frost damage. Critical temperatures have been researched and calculated for each bud development stage. For example, in an apple orchard, at 24°F, one can expect up to 90% crop loss at ‘first pink’ stage, but only marginal to zero percent loss at green tip stage at the same temperature. An example of the critical temperature for some of the most common pome and stone fruit crops In New Jersey is available at https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/critical_spring_temperatures_for_tree_fruit_bud_stages Note that the critical temperature for damage at a particular bud stage may vary by 4 or 5⁰F depending on temperatures during the previous few days before the cold event.
Type of frost event: There are two types of frost: Advective and Radiative frost. Advective frost occurs when a large mass of cold dry air moves in from another region and replaces warmer air such as during a polar vortex. The rapid movement of air aids this, and there is generally an absence of an inversion layer, creating the potential for a prolonged event. Frost protection will generally be not effective during an advective frost. Conversely, radiative or radiational frost occurs when there is a rapid loss of heat from the ground, usually with a cloudless open sky, dry air, little wind and the likely formation of an inversion layer. This frost is relatively manageable with frost protection methods.
Inversion Layer: A strong inversion layer can be a source of warmer air, and could have a substantial difference in temperature than that closer to the ground. For this reason, inversions need to be closely monitored.
Table 1. An example of determining wet bulb temp using ambient temp and dew point. Courtesy, Don Smith, Penn State University
Air Temperature: Frost can occur when the ambient temperature dips below freezing (32°F). The hourly rate of falling temperatures and the lowest forecasted temperature should also be monitored. However, temperature experienced by trees will not necessarily be the same as the reported ambient temperature. To measure the temperature of the flower buds, farmers must take into account the cooling effect of evaporation of the moisture on the trees which is referred to as the wet-bulb temperature. Generally, the wet bulb temperature will be a few degrees lower than the dry bulb temperature except at the 100% RH. Table 1 provides an example of determining wet bulb temperature using the ambient temperature and the dew point. Hand-held and digital psychrometers can be used in the field to determine the wet bulb temperature.
Recently, Knox et al. (2017) at the University of Georgia showed that wet bulb temperature can be simply derived by ‘subtracting one third the difference between ambient temperature and dew point, from the ambient temperature.’ Modern frost alarms measure wet bulb temperature, which can directly transmit real time data to the user’s mobile phone or computer.
Dew point: Dew point is commonly reported as the atmospheric temperature below which water droplets begin to condense, forming dew. At low temperatures, the moisture in the air transitions from a gas to a liquid, as air temperature reaches the dew point. A higher dew point is associated with relatively slow drops in temperature, and vice versa. A lower dew point also generally means surface moisture will evaporate quicker.
Cloud coverage: Clear skies normally result in lower low temperatures than when there is cloud cover trapping radiant energy from the ground.
Wind Speed: Wind will determine the rate of loss of thermal energy. Almost all Frost Protection methods will have reduced efficiency at wind speeds above 10 mph, and are therefore not recommended when winds are above 10 mph.
Effective Frost Protection requires weather stations and sensors for each of the fields you are seeking to monitor and protect. Data from a nearby weather stations may not always be reliable. On-farm weather stations are the most accurate source of weather data, and should be linked with a frost alarm.
Literature Cited:
Knox JA, Nevius DS, and Knox PN. 2017. Two Simple and Accurate Approximations for Wet-bulb Temperature in Moist Conditions with Forecasting Applications. Bulletin of American Meteorological Society. Sept Issue: 1897-1906. https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0246.1
Take home message:
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents are hosting a 4-par
t webinar series, every Tuesday in May from 7:00-8:00PM to assist farmers with on-farm direct marketing operations to develop strategies for the 2020 season. This 4-part, weekly program will present and discuss the following topics:
Session 1 (May 5th): Maintaining Social Distancing and Safe Food Handling Practices: Guidance for Farm Markets – Wesley Kline, Ag Agent, RCE of Cumberland Co. and Meredith Melendez, Ag Agent, RCE of Mercer Co.
Session 2 (May 12th): Sales and Distribution Strategies – William Bamka, Ag Agent, RCE of Burlington Co. and Stephen Komar, Ag Agent, RCE of Sussex Co.
Session 3 (May 19th): U-Pick Operation Guidelines under COVID-19 – Meredith Melendez, Ag Agent, RCE of Mercer Co.
Session 4 (May 26th): Farmer Panel – Strategies We Are Using – (Farmers TBD) Moderators: Michelle Infante-Casella, Ag Agent, RCE of Gloucester County and Meredith Melendez, RCE of Mercer Co.
To Participate online for All 4 Events:
Use the link: https://go.rutgers.edu/k0d59m8h
Or join by phone:
+1-650-429-3300 USA Toll
Access code: 226 795 368 # and then # again
We suggest visiting at least 15 minutes before the session start time to confirm system requirements
For more events hosted by Rutgers Cooperative Extension check out the NJAES Events Calendar.
